Windshield wipers are an important safety feature of modern vehicles and are used to remove rain and vision obstructing dust from the windshields of automobiles, trains, ships, and airplanes. In order to effectively remove dust from the windshield, a windshield wiper fluid is projected toward the windshield to be cleaned. Such windshield wiper fluid may contain, for example, water, alcohol, detergent, among other constituents. The volume ratio of the individual windshield wiper fluid constituents may be chosen such as to prevent freezing of the vehicle windshield wiper fluid in the climate of intended vehicle use. A reservoir may hold a sufficient amount of windshield wiper fluid to allow the vehicle to be safely operated for extended periods between refilling the reservoir.
The actual implementation and features of a windshield wiping system in a vehicle are driven by several considerations. One of these considerations is how effectively the windshield wiper fluid is being used during the wiping of the windshield. For example, projecting the windshield wiper fluid toward the windshield far in advance of the windshield wiper action may result in partial or complete runoff of the windshield wiper fluid from the windshield without being utilized during the windshield wiper cleaning action. Further, the distribution of the projected windshield wiper fluid on the windshield may also play a role in how effective the windshield wiper fluid is being used. For example, concentrating the projected windshield wiper fluid on a single spot of the windshield may lead to local excess of windshield wiper fluid on the windshield and may result in runoff of only partially utilized windshield wiper fluid. However, runoff of unused or underutilized windshield wiper fluid should be minimized from an environmental perspective.
Another consideration is the cost-effectiveness of the windshield wiping system in a vehicle and the competitive pricing situation in the overall market. On the one hand, although a windshield wiping system may be highly accurate, reliable, and effective, the actual implementation in a vehicle on the other hand may be prohibitive from a cost perspective. A suitable tradeoff may have to be found that allows several of the above considerations to be simultaneously satisfied to yield an acceptable outcome. In that respect, it may be beneficial to explore how additional elements of a windshield wiping system may be advantageously combined with vehicle elements to minimize cost.